A man and woman have been found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £126,000 into the UK inside two dogs.

Gregory Graham, 27, and Kaye Chapman, 20, of Harrow, north-west London, were arrested at Stansted Airport after a flight from Amsterdam last September.

Norwich Crown Court heard how 21 packets of cocaine were stitched into the stomachs of two Labradors.

Police were tipped off by vets at Schiphol Airport who were concerned about the health of the dogs.

The dogs, a golden Labrador called Rex and a black Labrador called Frispa,
arrived for a stopover in Amsterdam on a Martinair flight from Colombia on 27
September.

Vital organs

An airline official working in the cargo section checked on the animals after
their long flight and found one dog weak and the other aggressive.

The court was told that X-rays showed the packets of cocaine had been surgically implanted into the dogs' stomach cavities.

Surgical scars estimated to be about four weeks old were also noticed on their bellies.

One had to be put down because the canisters had fused with some of its vital organs.

Co-defendants, Sophia McPherson, 24, from Luton, and Glenroy Kentish, 28, of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, were cleared of conspiracy to import drugs.

Det Ch Insp Andy McDonald, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "This was an extremely callous method of drug importation that resulted in the death of Frispa and the needless suffering of Rex - who now thankfully has fully recovered."

Chapman and Graham were remanded in custody for reports and Judge Peter Jacobs warned they faced lengthy prison terms.